The Great Barrier Reef might get all the attention, but what about our western coral reefs? Warmer waters and human impacts mean these reefs are in trouble.

The World Heritage Committee has called for a comprehensive assessment not just of the threats to the Great Barrier Reef, but of their cumulative effect.
AAP Image/Australian Institute for Marine Science, Ray BerkelmansMarch 30, 2015

The government says it has met all of the recommendations for safeguarding the Great Barrier Reef. But a close reading of the dozens of UN recommendations shows that many have been only partly fulfilled.

A new report aims to establish exactly what we do and don't know about the effects of dredging on the Great Barrier Reef, and suggests that managing fine sediments will be one of the biggest challenges.

The new Reef 2050 plan is taking the long view on protecting the Great Barrier Reef - but does it have the right vision?
Nickj/Wikimedia CommonsMarch 23, 2015

The Australian government’s latest report on the Great Barrier Reef, submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre last Friday, has been carefully crafted and word-smithed, with many of its claims supported…

Flying over Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
Kiyo/FlickrOctober 28, 2014

The Great Barrier Reef is in trouble, and a draft government plan to ensure its survival does not go far enough. A number of submissions including those from the Australian Academy of Science and Environmental…

Much of the Great Barrier Reef is in poor health. Scientists have called for dredging decisions at Abbot Point to be reopened.
Flickr/Robert LinsdellSeptember 2, 2014

Tonight’s Four Corners on ABC investigates dredging at ports on the Great Barrier Reef, including claims that the federal government is reportedly seeking alternatives to dumping dredge spoil at sea at…

The latest report on the health of the Great Barrier Reef shows the reef condition is “poor”
Scientific Editor/FlickrAugust 14, 2014

The latest healthcheck of the Great Barrier Reef shows the overall outlook is “poor”, and getting worse. According to the Outlook Report produced by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, climate…

Healthy coral on the Great Barrier Reef. New research shows that corals exposed to dredging have increased risk of disease.
dion gillard/FlickrJuly 16, 2014

In the midst of harsh cuts to Great Barrier Reef management and research, including cuts to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Department of…

The United Nations is concerned about port expansions and dredging disposal in the Great Barrier Reef – but that bigger picture is ignored in new ‘Reef Facts’ commercials.
Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR TeamMay 1, 2014

New “Reef Facts” commercials are currently airing during prime-time television shows in Australia, purporting to tell the “facts” about the environmental health of the Great Barrier Reef. It comes amid…

Bigger picture: the Great Barrier Reef seen from the Landsat satellite.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Wikimedia Commons March 20, 2014

“Save the reef” has become a popular catch-cry among many environment groups, with Greenpeace’s Great Barrier Reef website shared more than 125,000 times on social media to date. It and many similar campaigns…

Already operating as a coal port, the disposal of dredge material from expanding Abbot Point is now the subject of a legal challenge.
GBRMPAMarch 2, 2014

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s recent decision to allow 3 million cubic metres of dredge material to be disposed of 25 kilometres off Abbot Point in north Queensland has attracted passionate…

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has announced it will allow the dumping of three million cubic metres of dredge spoil from the Abbot Point port redevelopment within the marine park’s boundaries…

Dredging at Abbot Point will create three million cubic metres of spoil.
AAPJanuary 29, 2014

By the end of this week we will know whether the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority will allow dredge spoil from the Abbot Point port redevelopment to be dumped within the park’s boundaries. The…

After decades of work, A$200 million in taxpayer funding and even more from farmers’ pockets, we finally have a rare good news story to tell about the Great Barrier Reef. Thanks to an extraordinary effort…

The Queensland government is preparing the way for more coal ports, but there are indications coal production and profits are on the way down.
AAP Image/Alan PorrittNovember 8, 2013

If the Abbot Point expansion is approved by the Commonwealth Environment Minister next month, port dredging will go ahead. Private investment in coal ports and rail may no longer stack up, as BHP Billiton…

The Queensland government has weakened environmental regulations to get more development along the coast.
John HarveyOctober 17, 2012

The Newman-led Liberal-National Party (LNP) government in Queensland is aiming to boost economic growth by focusing on development in four areas; agriculture, tourism, mining and residential/commercial/industrial…